Blizzard is making a 'StarCraft II' campaign free to play

Blizzard is taking StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty's campaign free to play. As Polygon reports, come November 14th, you'll have access to the entire narrative and if you already own that, you'll get the Protoss-themed Heart of the Swarm campaign for free. The other narratives will run you $15 each. Unlike StarCraft II: Starter Edition that included free multiplayer, the adversarial mode that comes in tow here will feature ranked play -- not just casual, unranked matches.

It's a smart move, and free access to ranked multiplayer could be a boon for the StarCraft eSports scene. After all, Dota 2 and League of Legends are both free-to-play (as is Blizzard's own Heroes of the Storm), and those are doing pretty well for themselves. Valve saw a sizable uptick in players -- and money -- after making the aging Team Fortress 2 free-to-play, as well.